For India, a leadership role in a revitalised Commonwealth, based on shared economic interests, would provide the perfect pretext for building relationships with partners new and old.
LONDON: To say that the election of Donald Trump has thrown the international order into uncertainty would be a titanic understatement.
But with all eyes on Europe, it’s easy to lose sight of changing headwinds in the rest of the world. As economies in Asia and Africa continue to grow at an eye-watering pace, the Global South will play an important role in shaping our 21st century foreign policy. These rising stars present an enormous opportunity—but for too long, my country, Britain has been asleep at the wheel. In favour of relationships elsewhere, we have often neglected our historical ties to Commonwealth partners in Asia and Africa.
While we have pursued a policy of alignment with Europe, other countries have taken a more long-term view. Over the past few decades, it is China which has been most adept at building relations with the Global South, entrenching itself as economic hegemon in the countries which will define the 21st century. Through its Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese government has spent more than $1 trillion on projects in countries around the world, mostly in the Global South. Often, these BRI deals involve Chinese ownership of infrastructure, or access to critical minerals—a fact which has caused significant trouble for countries such as Sri Lanka and Zambia.
But the tectonic plates are once again shifting. China’s leadership in Asia and Africa is under threat, as fast-rising India positions itself as the champion of the Global South. During its 2023 G20 presidency, India actively positioned itself as the Voice of the Global South, and has since launched an annual summit of the same name. Since taking office in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has conducted visits to more than 70 countries, including high-profile tours of East Africa and Southeast Asia.
India’s vision of the Global South is very different to the one presented by China. Prime Minister Modi has regularly voiced his support for a “free and open” Indo-Pacific, united by a shared belief in democracy, commerce, and national independence. For Modi’s India, long-term growth in the Global South should not be powered by state-brokered mineral deals or Western foreign aid, but by trade and private sector vitality. Most recently, this leadership was recognised by the Government of Barbados, which issued Prime Minister Modi with an Honorary Order of Freedom, a sign of the enduring partnership between the two countries and a token of appreciation for India’s efforts to provide a positive voice for the Global South. The warm welcome that the Prime Minister received in Mauritius last week is another such example of his esteem amongst developing nations.
But through its membership of the Commonwealth, India has an opportunity to take this position of leadership to the next level, strengthening ties to existing partners like Britain, while building new links in Africa, the Pacific, and the Caribbean. This community of fifty-six free and equal nations could serve as a powerful alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, enabling the Global South to stand on its own two feet in pursuit of growth and development.
The mature Commonwealth of the 21st century is not an imperial relic. In recent years, countries with no historical connection to Britain—such as Mozambique, Gabon, and Togo—have joined the bloc, with many more queuing up for consideration. In fact, today, it is India which stands best placed to seize the Commonwealth opportunity. India is already the bloc’s largest economy, and more than half of the world’s Commonwealth citizens live in India.
Alongside its robust ties to Anglosphere partners like Britain, India boasts historical, commercial, and cultural links with many of the Commonwealth’s fastest-growing economies. The Indian diaspora—which Modi calls his “living bridges”—is 35 million strong, and disproportionately concentrated in the Commonwealth. In realpolitik terms, India has a vested interest in countering growing Chinese influence abroad, given that the two countries share a disputed and often tense border.
The establishment of closer intra-Commonwealth trading links, based on a shared belief in free and fair trade, would provide significant growth opportunities for emerging economies in Africa and Asia, thereby giving them a stronger negotiating hand when dealing with major economies like China and the United States. It would drive development, while also giving due regard to the importance of national sovereignty, democracy, and economic freedom. With greater opportunity elsewhere, fewer countries would be attracted to the siren-song of debt-laden BRI projects.
And nor would reengagement with the Commonwealth mean leaving other groupings. Membership of the Commonwealth is not exclusive or prescriptive in character; its members are united by common values and common interests.
For India, a leadership role in a revitalised Commonwealth, based on shared economic interests, would provide the perfect pretext for building relationships with partners new and old. In an increasingly stormy international landscape, friends can be hard to come by—but for India, for Britain, and for the bloc’s other fifty-four member states, a revitalised Commonwealth could provide the ideal safe harbour.
Lord Marland is the Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council and formerly served as the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy from 2011 to 2014. He has held key ministerial roles in energy, climate change, and intellectual property. A prominent businessman, he has led major ventures in the insurance and investment sectors and now chairs EcoWorld Management Ltd and Bspoke Insurance Group Ltd. Beyond business and politics, he is deeply engaged in the arts and philanthropy, serving as a trustee of the British Museum and Chairman of Tickets for Troops.